Imane Salmam ^1,2 Kadija Perreault ^1,2 Krista Best ^1,2 Imane Zahouani ³ Gilles Drouin ¹ Jean Tittley ¹ François Desmeules ^3,4 Alexandre Campeau-lecours ^1,5 Simon Beaulieu-Bonneau ^1,6 Jean-Sebastien Paquette ^7,8,9 Simon Deslauriers ⁷ Sarah-Maude Brouillard ¹⁰ Katherine Lepage ¹⁰ Jean-Sebastien Roy ^1,2*

• ¹ Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Quebec, Canada
• ² School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Quebec, Canada
• ³ Centre de recherche Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• ⁴ School of Rehabilitation, University of Montreal, Montréal, Canada
• ⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Laval University, Québec, Canada
• ⁶ School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Laval University, Quebec, Germany
• ⁷ VITAM Research Centre on Sustainable Health, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
• ⁸ Laboratoire ARIMED, Groupe de médecine de famille du Nord de Lanaudière, CISSS Lanaudière, Québec, Canada
• ⁹ Département de médecine familiale et de médecine d’urgence, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
• ¹⁰ Patient Partners, Québec, Canada

Objective: The primary objective was to compare the physical capacities of individuals with Long COVID (Long COVID group [LCG]) to those who had COVID-19 but did not develop persistent symptoms (short COVID group [SCG]), and to individuals without a history of COVID-19 (control group [CG]). The secondary objectives were to provide a comprehensive profile of sociodemographic and COVID-19 history of individuals with Long COVID, considering factors such as sex, gender, hospitalization, time since onset, and comorbidities, and b) identify selfreported and objective clinical measures explaining health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with Long COVID. Methods: A total of 120 adults were included in each of the groups. Participants completed selfreported assessments covering HRQoL, comorbidities, pain, sleep, and fatigue. Physical assessments included handgrip strength (HGS), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 6minute-walk-test (6MWT), perceived exertion during the 6MWT (Modified-Borg Scale), and daily step count during a 7-day period.) for LCG, SCG, and CG was 44.2[11.2], 42.1[16.4], and 46[15.9], respectively. LCG showed significantly higher pain, comorbidities, and fatigue, along with lower HRQoL and sleep quality compared to the other groups. HGS, SPPB, and 6MWT performance were also significantly lower in LCG, while perceived exertion during 6MWT was higher. Finally, the number of steps per day was significantly lower in LCG. Higher prevalence of obesity and comorbidities were identified among those hospitalized after COVID-19. Fatigue, pain, comorbidities, and Step count were the variables explaining HRQoL for LCG (R²: 0.58; F= 35.9).Long COVID individuals, on average 329 [146] days post-infection, experience enduring physical and health-related challenges, with significant implications for their overall wellbeing.